Nico Rosberg will need to finish at least third in the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 27 after he finished second in the Brazilian Grand Prix behind his Mercedes-GP teammate Lewis Hamilton.
The result leaves Rosberg 12 points ahead of Hamilton ahead of the season finale at Yas Marina Circuit.
Heavy rain caused chaos with the event, which began the safety car, and was twice red flagged as conditions caused a number of crashes, including one for Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, as cars struggled for grip on the Interlagos track.
Max Verstappen recovered from dropping to 16th place after a move to intermediate tyres failed to pay off, put in a superb comeback drive to finish third.
Sergio Perez was fourth for Force India, ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz’s Toro Rosso.
Hamilton led throughout and managed to stay on the same wet tyres for all 71 laps, as did Rosberg, who survived a big scare mid-race as he suffered a half-spin, but recovered the car quickly to continue.
It was Hamilton’s ninth victory of the season and his third in a row to keep the pressure on his teammate when they come to the UAE in two weeks time.
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